“Emma?” wondered Miss Briggs.
“We left her with Anne,” Nora informed them.
“Yes, and Emma went downstream a few moments after you girls went away. She said she would go back to camp, gathering flowers on the way,” interjected Anne.
“How long was this before I joined you, Anne?” questioned Grace, turning to her companion.
“I should say about three-quarters of an hour,” answered Anne, a worried look creeping into her eyes.
“What’s this?” demanded Lieutenant Wingate. “Emma missing?”
“Don’t worry. She will turn up all right,” comforted Nora. “You can’t lose Emma Dean so easily.”
“Elfreda, please get a rifle and come with me,” directed Grace incisively. “Hippy, I should like to have you go with us, but it is more important that you remain here to look after the camp. Should we not find Emma soon, I will fire three interval shots for assistance. You will then hurry to me, but in that event, bring Nora and Anne with you. In no circumstances leave them here alone.”
Grace issued her directions calmly, but there was that in her tone that brought a worried look to four pairs of eyes. That she suspected more than appeared on the surface was apparent to all.
“You—you don’t think that anything ha—as happened to Emma, do you?” begged Anne.